Referring to FIG. 1, it is known to mount a mailbox 2 on a mailbox support 4. The mailbox 2 includes a mail receptacle 6. The mailbox support 4 is typically in the form of an elongated rigid member (e.g., a beam, a pole, a post, a shaft, etc.). There is a reasonable likelihood that, over the course of their lifetime, the mailbox 2 and/or the mailbox support 4 will be impacted by an automobile, a snow plow, and/or a teenage vandal wielding a baseball bat. Such impacts can seriously damage and/or destroy the mailbox 2 and/or the mailbox support 4, and can require costly and burdensome repairs and/or replacement.
To overcome these problems, attempts have been made to make mailboxes and mailbox supports more durable and thus more capable of withstanding such impacts. For example, it is known to make mailboxes and mailbox supports out of plastic materials rather than metal and/or wood materials. However, mailboxes and mailbox supports made from plastic material can be unsightly. As another example, U.S. Pat. No. 9,433,313 (the “'313 Patent”) discloses a mailbox support that includes a spring connected between top and bottom end portions of the mailbox support to permit the top end portion to pivot relative to the bottom end portion upon impact. The mailbox support disclosed in the '313 Patent can be problematic in several ways. First, if the impact is great enough, the top end portion of the mailbox support (and thus the mailbox mounted thereon) can break away from the spring. This can create a dangerous situation if the top end portion winds up in a street where automobiles are travelling. Second, the spring permits pivoting of the top end portion in all directions (i.e., in 360 degrees about a longitudinal axis of the bottom end portion). In some instances, a dangerous situation could occur if the top end portion of the mailbox support pivots in a particular direction (e.g., in the direction of an adjacent sidewalk where pedestrians and/or cyclists are travelling).
Aspects of the present invention are directed to these and other problems.